Do this one thing on Daffodil Day

Like me, you too may choose to support Daffodil Day, the annual event to raise funds to help support the Cancer Council’s research, prevention and patient support services. I usually can’t resist the temptation to buy a bunch or two of daffodils as I pass through the supermarket checkouts lined with buckets of them.

By all means, go ahead and buy some, but whatever you do, do this one thing.

Take charge of how you think about your health.

Don’t put up with suggestions that illness is your lot. Grow hope and health and wellbeing, a variation to the Cancer Council’s slogan, Grow Hope.

If you do, you won’t be alone. There are a growing number of medical voices speaking up for a new view of health and healing.

For instance, Dr Lissa Rankin discovered some of the fears that make us sick and prevent disease remission: thinking about sickness all the time, believing that we’re victims of our genes and adhering to false programming about health and hygiene.

She also found that there were other fears and stresses preventing healing. “I came to see that these patients were unhealthy, not because of bad genes or poor health habits or rotten luck, but because they were gut-wrenchingly lonely or miserable in their relationships, stressed about work, freaked out about their finances, or profoundly depressed. Most when I asked on my intake form “what’s missing from your life?” wrote a long list. And when I asked the same question in person, the majority of these patients wept. Something was going on that had nothing to do with vegetables or exercise or vitamins”.

In her book, Mind Over Medicine, she refers to PhD student, Kelly Turner. As part of her doctoral dissertation she began to research spontaneous remission and found that the avenues of treating and even curing cancer are more varied than expected, including a number of thought-based approaches that put the patient squarely in the driver’s seat of his or her own health.

Since I was a girl I was very afraid of this disease,” said Turner. “Just to have my own fear go away as a result of my research has been a relief for me, and if my research can help other cancer patients get a little less fearful, than I think that’s something positive to give them”.

Fear of sickness can be a health hazard to the one who’s afraid, while an expectation of wellbeing can bring relief.

Also, being hopeful can improve health outcomes. Dr Rankin experienced a complete about-face in her thinking at the time she was taking seven medications, getting weekly allergy shots and had just undergone surgery. In her words, she “found her inner Pilot Light”. She discovered that love, service, pleasure and gratitude were a recipe for self-healing.

And other sufferers who’ve made radical changes to their lives, including quite a few suffering from cancer as found on the radicalremission.com website and elsewhere, have found that spiritual emotions like love and happiness and faith and forgiveness are “as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs).

They’re adding evidence to the notion that we can all break free from limiting beliefs and labels, enabling us to open the door to the prospect that a positive outcome is possible.

Research figures show that our fears about cancer may be starting to wane. Australia’s mortality rate for all cancers has dropped 28% in 20 years.

It’s also good news that a group of experts has recommended changing the definition of cancer and eliminating the word from some common diagnoses, ensuring that patients are less frightened and less likely to seek what may be unneeded and potentially harmful and invasive treatments.

That’s the research but what does this mean for you?

So, you’ve started to create changes in your life and outlook in order to have a positive health outcome. But you still find yourself with your ears pricked up when you hear the word “cancer” and have a niggling fear of it.

How to move on?

Think about how a butterfly emerges from its chrysalis. You can be sure that it’s never tempted to wonder what happened to that past limited view, or to turn back and find it.

As we begin to understand health from a less body-based view of ourselves and others, we don’t need to revisit old beliefs or programmed fears.

When you get knotted up with the old fears about the vulnerability of human life remember the butterfly, which will remind you to wake up to the better view of yourself as a healthy consciousness (and compliant body) – self-reliant, kind, happy and full of confidence.

Through this mindful activity you’ll have fewer and fewer negative emotions and fears, leading to better health and wellbeing.

Comments

This post holds great relevance to me. I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been coming down sick simply from being as stressed as I am. My anxiety has gone up, as has my paranoia. It’s exhausting to be worried all the time. I’m a firm believer that one’s mentality will directly affect one’s physicality. I’ll have to check out that book “Mind Over Medicine.” What great information on self-healing.

Hi Lindsey
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think one of the most important points to remember is that we need to take action to replace the negative and victim-based thoughts with spiritual, divine concepts – peace, dominion, love, achievement, and not just get stuck in believing that we’ll forever be dealing with negativity and sickness. We need a new view of ourselves!